SO HOW WAS OUR LATEST TRIP?: Part 2

Yesterday provided highlights from Iceland to Montreal, including our experience of the total eclipse of the sun on the Azamara Journey.  Today, will feature our stops in Montreal and Vancouver.  Tomorrow, Part 3, will be our ten days on the Silverseas Silver Whisper.  If you missed them, here are the full Montreal and Vancouver postings, in chronological order:

• WE ARE IN MONTREAL
• ALL ABOUT MONTREAL
• AMERICA'S BEST COLLEGES, 2026-2027 and NCAA FOOTBA...
• TOUR OF MONTREAL
• MY BEST DINNER IN MONTREAL
• MY LIFE: Part 3h--Incredible Journeys during Reti....
• WE ARE IN VANCOUVER....Again

Here is a professional travelogue of Montreal by fox Tours and Travel.  Our highlights:

• On Day 1 in Montreal, I mostly paid tribute to Dolly Parton:

Goodbye Dolly.

A Look Back at Her Extraordinary Life.

• 
  All about Montreal.
• The city is an island, 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, connected by 20 bridges.
• Is 315 miles east northeast of Toronto, 122 miles west of the national capital, Ottawa, and 160 miles southwest of the provincial (like a state in the USA) capital of Quebec, Quebec City.

• Montreal and Quebec city are in the province of Quebec, while Toronto and Ottawa are in Ontario, which borders Niagara Falls.
• Has the second-largest metropolitan area at 4.2 million to Toronto, with 6.2 million.
• Takes its name from Mount Royal, a triple-peaked mountain in the middle of the city.

• 
  90% of locals speak French, which is #2 to Paris in total French-speaking people.
• Became the third UNESCO City of Design in 2006, with Berlin and Buenos Aires.
• Held the 1967 World's Fair, known as Expo 67, and hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics, where Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome was the U.S. pavilion.  In 1995 became the Biosphere, and converted to Space for Life in 2021.

• We stayed at the Sheraton Le Centre.  View for the Executive Lounge on the 37th floor.

• I guess our tour of Montreal was the main highlight.

• Took several videos.  Here is one.  To see all, click on this.

• Chinatown was established in the 1890s by early railway workers.  Area survived various urban redevelopment and expropriation threats to remain the cultural soul of the Asian community.

A market we strolled through had a variety of colored veggies I never saw before.

• Montreal is a university city, with 50 major degree-granting college level institutions.  #1 in Canada is McGill, ranked #27 globally.

• Last stop was on Mont Royal.  That icon in the far background is Olympic Stadium.

• We did not do much more in Montreal.  We did have some excellent Asian meals, for there were Chinese, Korean and Japanese restaurants in very close walking distance from our hotel.

• First lunch was at Kan Bei, where I had a hot-sour soup and dollop of scotch.

• Next day, lunch at Hanyang Jokbal.  Very authentic.  The Kim Chee was special.

Of course, with a green bottle of Jinro shoju.

• Dinner at Sakura went well.  Had sukiyaki.

• On our final full day, went to Reuben's, a Jewish restaurant, to get their sandwich special.  Really enjoyed it in our hotel room with a view of Montreal and Mont Royal, red wine provided by the hotel as a birthday gift, and a bottle of Molsen's.

Then an Air Canada flight to Vancouver.  First, entry into an excellent Airport Lounge.  My mostly Mexican lunch was aided by a drink of Cucumber Gin Caesar, which was like a Bloody Mary, but tomato juice and vodka replaced by Clamato and cucumber gin, Aberfeldy scotch on ice, and two kinds of Molsen beers.

The plane meal featured chicken teriyaki, bolstered by Johnny Walker Black Label.

Our stay in Vancouver amounted only to two nights.  

• So we did not do much, except hang around our hotel, the JW Marriott.  
• Hotel gave me a birthday gift.
• It was constantly raining, and we had been twice to Vancouver in the past year, so saw everything.  

• 
  Won about a hundred bucks at the hotel casino.  
• Only noteworthy mention is that soccer ball.
• Vancouver was one of hosts of the recent FIFA World Cup.
• Their geodesic dome was converted into what looks like a FIFA World Cup soccer ball.
• View from our room.

We then boarded the Silverseas Silver Whisper.  Tomorrow, the final and Part 3 of our latest trip.

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SO HOW WAS OUR LATEST TRIP?

Nice to be home after our 5-week trip.  Here was our sunset view in Honolulu last night from where I am composing this posting.

This morning.

And towards Punchbowl Crater.

Meanwhile, the price of oil jumped today. Adding to investors’ worries, a meeting set for today between Iran and Gulf countries regarding Hormuz was postponed “in the interests of consensus,” Oman’s foreign minister wrote on X. The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, rose as high as $108, while U.S. crude oil touched $103 per barrel.

The bad news about Tropical Storm Norbert still at 40 MPH is that he is not turning more southward, once on a path taking him south of the Big Island.  Now, Norbert is heading straight for the middle of the Hawaiian Islands.  However, environmental conditions are such that the system is expected to degenerate into a post-tropical remnant low tomorrow, then dissipate by Wednesday.  It should be rainy and not so windy on Thursday.

We in Hawaii are now paranoid about these ocean storms, so what about Tropical Depression 15-E which has formed in the Eastern Pacific?  No problem, while there are sustained winds of 35 MPH, the system might strengthen some today before beginning to weaken from Tuesday night or Wednesday.

About other newsworthy items:

Mariska Hargitay, who plays the beloved Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” will take the stage tonight as host of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.  Here’s everything you need to know, including start time, the red carpet and how to watch.  This year’s event pits longtime favorites against breakout stars. HBO’s “The Pitt” leads the nominations with 25, followed by “Hacks” with 24. Several shows in their first seasons have garnered multiple nods: “Widow’s Bay” is up for 19 awards and “Pluribus” for 18.

However, I'm not familiar with any of the above series.  From Google AI:

According to data from Nielsen, streaming captured a record 44.8% of total television viewing time, outpacing broadcast (20.1%) and cable (24.1%) combined for the first time. A Pew Research Center survey also shows that 83% of U.S. adults use streaming services, while only 36% still subscribe to traditional cable or satellite TV. [1, 2]

Some sports news:

• On the Silver Whisper, I was watching Texas get drubbed by Ohio State on ESPN by late in the third quarter, 23-3.  So I went to dinner.

• 
  This is Arch Manning, Texas QB.  We knew his grandfather (Archie), uncles (Peyton and Eli) and father (Cooper).
• Well, he led a comeback of historic proportions.
• Final score?  Texas 24 - Ohio State 23.

• 
  American Ben Shelton put up a good fight, but Alexander Zverev of Germany beat him for the Men's U.S. Open Tennis Championship.  Who is Ben Shelton?
• 6'4", 23 years old and now ranked #4 in the world.
• Started as a pro in 2022.
• Father Bryan was a pro, and mother Lisa was a highly ranked junior tennis player.
• The NFL began, but I have no fantasy teams, so will not be closely following these games. At least in NCAA football, I have three alma mater teams to follow.

At the end of a long trip, I always provide a summary.

• Can't say it was perfect, but fine, maybe even great.

• 
  Can't believe I gained 10 pounds.  
• Must be the reason why my knees hurt more when I walk.  Like carrying 10-pound bag of sugar.
• After our last trip earlier this year, I gained 7 pounds.
• Took me a couple of months to lose that, for only the day before the start of this latest, I finally got that weight back to normal.
• Our next trip is in December, so I have three months.  Hope to accomplish this in a month.

• 
  A second negative is that we returned to 15 Craigside, and they were in the midst of a COVID outbreak.  The numbers were terrible ten days ago, even worse than during the pandemic.  But fewer active cases today.  We need to wear a mask, and this will continue for weeks to come.

• 
  Other than that, we're both fine...except for our combined weights.
• Highlights?
• Getting to Iceland for the first time in my life.  However, don't plan to go back again, ever.  That graphic is not what we saw.
• Took a tour.  Wasn't much.  It was also raining during the entire bus ride.

• 
  The Azamara Journey cruise was only okay.  
• Too long at 18 days.  I don't like to stay on a ship for more than a week.  
• I'm a landlubber.  
• The cuisine was good enough.
• I asked the ship's band to sing Anak, and they did.

• 
  THE CAPTAIN DID GET US TO SEE THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.
• However, it was cold on the deck and the view was spotty.
• At total, the air did not chill because it was already too cold.
• Saw a few icebergs.

• Cruised by several glaciers on Greenland.

• Band again played Anak for me.

• Why Anak?  Read this posting.

• Took our only tour in Nuuk, Greenland.  Saw a pink tree.  This 18-day cruise had few flowers because of the climate.

• Read why my life on the Azamara Journey reminded me of the film, Groundhog Day.
• A few video highlights of the rest of this cruise.

On August 26, the Azamara Journey arrived in Montreal, Canada.  I'll continue further highlights as Part 2 tomorrow.

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CHOCOLATE, CAVIAR, FOIE GRAS AND TRUFFLES EXTRAVAGANZA ON THE SILVER WHISPER

 The Silversea Silver Whisper just arrived in Honolulu Harbor. 

Back to the conclusion of our cruise.  We've had anxious moments, but for me, this could well have been the best ever.  The most important thing is that, after flying all the way to Iceland, than boarding the Azamara Journey to see the Total Solar Eclipse, then confronting three hurricanes on the Silver Whisper, we are well with more fabulous memories.

Our usual starting lunch with salad and pasta.

The ship had a 7PM departure, so we ordered room service caviar to have on our veranda to watch the parting.

We then went for dinner at La Terazza, beginning with antipasto, and two white and two red wines.

Then came spaghetti bolognese and an asparagus/egg dish.

Ended with a coffee panna cotta.

One of the highlights of this cruise was  then the Chocolate Extravaganza at the pool deck.  I don't know how these entertainers and passengers were dancing, for the ship itself was rocking.

The following caviar and foie gras extravaganza was enhanced the following evening at the French restaurant, La Dame, with truffles.  First the caviar.

Then a Williams Foie Gras dinner with rack of lamb.

Intermezzo.

Then went to see in The Show Lounge, Cruise Director PJ sing Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli

Yesterday, we had another caviar send-off as we departed Kona.

Sunset.

Then Venus and the Moon.

Went to dinner and saw that part of the menu had this Hawaiian set.

But we were stuffed from our departing caviar, sashimi and macadamia nuts. So just had soup and salad.  On the way out of The Restaurant, saw this Chaine des Rotisseurs plaque.  I once belonged to this oldest dining club in the world.

Night ended with Karaoke in the Panorama Lounge.

Well, this is the end of our cruise on the Silver Whisper.

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